By IINA
Cairo : The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) has sent invitations to leaders of its 57 member countries to attend its 11th Summit, to be held in Dakar, capital of Senegal, on March 13 and 14, Sayyed Qassem Al-Mesri, advisor to OIC Secretary-General, said here yesterday. The two-day summit will be preceded by the OIC foreign ministers’ meeting on March 11 and 12. “The OIC leaders are scheduled to discuss a wide range of issues including the amendment of the Charter of the Organization with a view to strengthening cooperation among the Muslim countries,” Al-Mesri told reporters. “The OIC was hastily founded in late 1960s following the arson attack against Al-Aqsa Mosque. So its charter is not composed enough. The Organization needs a new charter that could outline the tools and targets cooperation among its members more clearly.
“The coming summit will decide on this issue,” he said, noting that the OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu was lobbying for restructuring the organization and enhancing the powers of its chief.
“On top of the agenda also are the issue of slander against Islam and the possibility of lobbying for a U.N. resolution incriminating infringement upon holy faiths,” KUNA reported quoting him as saying. “Some malicious powers are trying to escalate tension and widen the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims. “It is not in our interest to be drifted towards such marginal battles. We can make our point clear on the opposition to infringement upon Islamic Faith and its icons,” the OIC senior official noted.
“We can also push for a UN convention against mocking holy faith and work together with other UN members to put such a convention into force,” Al-Mesri said.
“There are seven binding UN documents on protection of human rights, but we need an eighth one to incriminate slander against holy faith. “The leaders will also mull the situations in the Palestinian territories with emphasis on the Israeli onslaught against Gaza Strip,” he said.
Asked about Lebanon’s representation to the summit, Al-Mesri said Lebanon, as an active member, received an invitation but it could be represented by its prime minister or any other senior official. Lebanon has been without a president since the expiry of its ex-president Emile Lahoud’s term on November 24, 2007, he added.